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Iranian president predicts Israel's end

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 15, 2006

TEHRAN, Iran - The president of Iran again lashed out at Israel on Friday and said it was "heading toward annihilation," just days after Tehran raised fears about its nuclear activities by saying it successfully enriched uranium for the first time.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a "permanent threat" to the Middle East that will "soon" be liberated. He also appeared to question whether the Holocaust happened.

"Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation," Ahmadinejad said at the opening of a conference in support of the Palestinians.

Ahmadinejad provoked world outcry in October when he said Israel should be "wiped off the map."

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his address to the conference Friday, accused the United States of plotting to bring the Mideast region under Israeli control.

The three-day conference is being attended by officials of Hamas, the ruling party in the Palestinian territories.

Khamenei indicated that Iran will support the cash-strapped, Hamas government, but he did not mention financial aid.

Iran has previously said it will give money to the Palestinian Authority to make up for the withdrawal of donations by Western nations that object to Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel and renounce violence. But no figure has been published.

On Tuesday, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully enriched uranium. A large-scale production of enriched uranium is required for either fueling nuclear reactors or making nuclear weapons.

The United States, France and Israel accuse Iran of secretly trying to build a nuclear weapon. Iran denies this, saying its program is confined to generating electricity.

The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until April 28 to cease enrichment. But Iran has rejected the demand.

Russia announced Friday that it will host a new round of talks with the United States, the European Union and China on Tuesday in a bid to head off a confrontation on the issue, Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Krivtsov said.

[Last modified April 15, 2006, 00:53:01]